Before he brought a muscular new dancing style to Hollywood
musicals, Gene Kelly was a Pitt economics major who supported himself by
pumping gas, digging ditches, and teaching at his family’s dance studios.

A Pitt professor and an alumnus were two of only 22
MacArthur Fellows selected nationwide in 2011. Better known as the “genius”
award, the honor includes $500,000 in unrestricted support for each recipient.

“The building was to be more than a schoolhouse; it was to
be a symbol of the life that Pittsburgh through the years had wanted to live,” Chancellor John G. Bowman wrote of Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning.

Toughness. Intelligence. Unselfishness. Consistency. Teamwork. Success. Improvement. Those words describe the Pitt men's basketball program. With those ideals, Jamie Dixon has built a “Tradition of Excellence” on and off the floor.

How will heat transfer from one component to another? What is the most efficient shape for a given part? Before John A. Swanson, engineers had to complete tedious calculations to answer these questions.

“If my science dies in a drawer somewhere instead of helping people, it serves no purpose,” says cardiologist Samir Saba. Pitt has a robust network of resources to bring science like Saba’s to the market.

“We are preparing students who will become leaders in the profession, contributing to the advancement of health care and the profession itself," Pitt School of Nursing Dean Jacqueline Dunbar-Jacob says of her school.

Following the 2001 anthrax attack at the Hart Senate Office Building, hazard teams needed to sterilize the offices. To do so effectively, they asked Pitt School of Pharmacy Professor Emeritus Joseph Knapp for advice.

Tiny viruses called bacteriophages are the most numerous creatures on Earth (an estimated 10 quadrillion quadrillion inhabit the planet) and are the focus of several groundbreaking research projects at Pitt.

Pitt writers have won some of the most prestigious literary prizes in
the country. They’ve also contributed to Pittsburgh’s growing community of
writers through programs like the Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series and
Cave Canem.

Business professor Carrie Leana and psychiatrist Jules Rosen study a paradox: 90 percent of direct-care workers say they believe their work makes the world better, yet turnover in the caregiving industry is high.

About This Site

Think of this site as a virtual coffee-table book celebrating Pitt’s 225 years of building better lives. Like any good coffee-table book, it is meant to be savored and revisited.

Browse through more than 225 stories about today’s Pitt and yesterday’s. Start with your favorite category or explore by topic. For other options in navigating, visit our Help page.

Celebration Highlights

$2 Billion Plus!
On October 12, 2012, as Pitt celebrated its 225th birthday with the University’s biggest homecoming ever, Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg announced that Pitt exceeded its goal of raising $2 billion through its Building Our Future capital campaign. Learn more

See Pitt's Original Charters
The original front pages of the state charters that established The Pittsburgh Academy (1787) and Western University of Pennsylvania (1819) have been painstakingly restored by Pitt preservationists and are on display at Hillman Library. Learn more